Home Jersey City Local Parenting Hacks to Make Life Easier 

Local Parenting Hacks to Make Life Easier 

by Ainsley Layland
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Between managing the family schedule, keeping kids from drawing on the walls, and making sure everyone is fed, there’s no questioning that parenting is hard work. In fact, it might arguably be the hardest job out there. But, like most areas in life, there are always a few tricks to help things run a bit more smoothly. Try out a few of these parenting hacks with supplies that are readily available in the local area. Read on to discover local parenting hacks to make life easier. 

parenting hacks

Cleaning + Organizing Hacks

Chargers

Keeping track of chargers and headphones for each family member has an easy answer: color-coding. Use decorative washi tape or color-coding tabs {available at CVS Pharmacy located at 59 Washington Street, Hoboken; 811 Clinton Street, Hoboken; and 210 14th Street, Hoboken; or Walgreens, 101 Washington Street, Hoboken} to assign each family member a color so everyone knows which charger is theirs.

Snap Fitness JC

Organizing Your Space 

Keeping a home or apartment organized, no matter how small, can be a challenge. To get little ones involved in taking care of the home, get them engaged in cleaning with a fun game. Create a square on the floor with painter’s tape {available at ACE Hardware, 130 Washington Street, Hoboken} and have them sweep everything into that square. Set a timer and let the games begin.

Harborside Sport + Spine

Keeping Clothes in Order 

Get ahead of the chaos for the week by organizing the kids’ outfits in an over-the-door hanging shoe organizer {available at ShopRite, 900 Madison Street, Hoboken; or Target, 100 14th St, Jersey City}. Pair together a shirt, bottoms, underwear, and socks to make getting dressed a breeze. By taking the decision process out of what to wear there should be fewer fights and fewer tantrums when a four-year-old wants to dress his or her self.

Hobbs Inc

See More: A List of Kid-Friendly Shops in Hoboken

Grocery Shopping + Kitchen Hacks

Have Your Reusable Bags Ready

The dreaded shopping trip. Every parent has a distraction strategy to hopefully get their children through the store without a meltdown. To streamline the process, don’t lose those reusable bags at the bottom of your cart and prolong check out time. Simply use a produce bag to tie the reusable bags to the cart handle. When it’s time to checkout, the bags are easy to pull off and hand over.

Kids are not always the most helpful when bringing in the groceries. For those who bring their groceries home in the car, keep a plastic laundry basket {available at ShopRite, 900 Madison Street, Hoboken} in your trunk. Load the groceries into the basket and take fewer trips into the house. No helpers needed.

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Create Snack Bags 

Once the newly purchased goods are inside, the real work begins. Life as a parent is always easier with a little planning ahead. Take whatever box or bag of snacks you just got and separate out snack-size portions into snack baggies {available at CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, or ShopRite} to keep in your diaper bag, car, or pantry. When the time comes to grab snacks for school the kids know what they can pack. As for the rest of the snacks like Halo oranges, string cheese, apple slices, and single yogurt cups, delegate a drawer in the fridge for kids’ snacks so they know what their options are without having to ask.

Read More: 5 Fun + Messy Activities for Your City Kids to Enjoy

Arts + Crafts Hacks

Avoiding the Mess

For some parents, “arts and crafts” translates to “a big mess I have to clean up.” One of the easiest ways to prevent a major clean up is to line the table with Press ‘N Seal {available at ShopRite, CVS Pharmacy, or Walgreens}. Once the masterpiece is complete, just pull up the protective liner and clean up is done. 

Keeping Track of Craft Supplies

Craft supplies seem to grow like a weed, always multiplying and impossible to organize. Use a plastic shower caddy {available at ShopRite} to store the supplies and then a muffin tin with paper liners {also available at ShopRite} to help young artists reign in their creative passion. Consider keeping paint in plastic hand soap dispensers {also available at ShopRite} to avoid major spills and dried up paint. 

For A Zero-Mess Activity 

To avoid any mess at all, place a piece of paper or a coloring page in a gallon Ziploc bag {available at CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, or ShopRite} and add a few dollops of paint {available at CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens}. Seal the bag and tape it to the workspace. The budding Jackson Pollock can now explore finger painting without getting the complete rainbow all over the apartment.

Do you have any parenting hacks that you want to share? Let us know in the comments! 

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